Polish Thermopylae, the Battle of Zadworze, remembered on latest Polish proof silver coin

The National Bank of Poland (NBP) has launched its latest silver coin and it’s one commemorating a pivotal battle in the war between Poland and Soviet Russia that took place through 1920. The Battle of Zadwórze is called the Polish Thermopylae for good reason. The iconic story of a tiny underdog force fighting against massively overwhelming odds has been epitomised with the Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae. The death of the Spartans was technically a loss, but the sacrifice delayed the Persians long enough for a strong force to be built up elsewhere that led to eventual victory. Such was the case at Zadworze, where a small force held up the Soviets long enough for the Poles to put together a larger army that defeated them just days later.

The coin, struck by the Mint of Poland and designed by Urszula Walerzak, is struck to a proof finish in a standard ounce of sterling 0.925 silver. The first in a series called Polish Thermopylae, it comes boxed with a certificate of authenticity, and has a mintage limited to 18,000 pieces. Available from Monday 29th May.

MINTS DESCRIPTION: On 17 August 1920 – at the same time when the Polish Army was fghting off the attack of the Bolsheviks near Warsaw – on the outskirts of Lwów near the railway station in Zadwórze, Polish defenders launched a daring aggressive assault and halted the advance of the overwhelming forces of the First Cavalry Army of Semyon Budyonny for many hours, until they ran out of ammunition. Almost all the defenders from the unit led by Captain Bolesław Zajączkowski died in the clash – 318 out of 330 soldiers were killed, while the commander himself along with the last remaining defenders decided to commit suicide in order not to fall into the hands of the Bolsheviks. In spite of the victory at Zadwórze Budyonny decided not to seize Lwów, even though he was only 30 km away from the city. Instead he hurried towards the Vistula and Wieprz rivers to support the forces of Mikhail Tukhachevsky, but as it turned out it was already too late. In this way the heroic struggle of the Polish defenders changed the fate of the entire Polish-Soviet war.

In the autumn of 1920 a burial mound was built at the site of the battle, and the authorities of the Second Republic of Poland established the Cross of Zadwórze, which honoured the defenders of the Polish Eastern Borderlands. One of the cofns containing the bodies of the defenders of Lwów from 1918 was buried with full military honours in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during its unveiling ceremony on 2 November 1925. This was a symbolic tribute to all those who selflessly fought in Lwów and in Zadwórze “for the unity of Poland’s Eastern Borderlands”.